Chapter 234

The car moved and soon stopped.

When I got out of the car, I could see a big gate far away.

Following the commander, I entered some kind of building. As soon as we went inside, a strong smell of disinfectant hit me.

It’s a hospital.

From the outside, it didn’t look like a hospital at all, and there was no reception area or anything inside—just people rushing around busily with that intense disinfectant smell.

As soon as we walked in, a soldier nearby approached but stopped abruptly upon seeing the commander and saluted. After the commander acknowledged the salute, they stepped back.

Then the commander took me further inside.

Inside, mixed with the disinfectant smell, there was an odd fishy stench.

I quickly figured out where it was coming from.

There were several beds, and on them lay soldiers with holes in their bodies. Dark-blue pus oozed from the wounds, and someone in what looked like protective gear was cutting away the injured areas.

“These men have been cursed by something from beneath the sea and are dying. Healing magic isn’t working, and even when we cut off the affected parts and regenerate them, they remain contaminated. Can you save these men?”

A curse…

Now that I think about it, curses do exist. Maleficent was especially good at using them. From my fragmented memories of Maleficent, curses affect the soul.

That’s why Victoria could be killed so easily—it’s said she was a powerful witch who could cast curses that would normally take hours in just an instant.

I approached the nearest patient.

Holding onto the patient, I recited a contract incantation.

The patient’s skin swelled up like it was about to burst, then hardened instantly. Cracks formed like breaking pottery, and fragments fell off, revealing pristine white skin underneath.

The curse was gone.

Suddenly, the place went silent.

Instead, sharp gazes pierced me from all directions.

I turned to the commander and asked, “Shall I make contracts with everyone?”

The commander bowed deeply to me.

“Please.”

I felt bad for throwing the soldiers into such dire situations, thinking the commander wasn’t fit for the role, but I proceeded to grab each patient and chant the contract incantation.

From the first world I learned that it’s better to make contracts one by one.

If too many are done at once, control becomes difficult.

This is my most powerful weapon, after all.

After spending quite a bit of time moving through the hospital, I created numerous harvesting systems.

But there was a blind spot…

One of the harvesting systems in the intensive care unit gained the psychic ability to lift curses. Of course, if there’s something that needs solving and it hasn’t been resolved yet, the system gains the ability to solve it.

Though this harvesting system can only dismantle curses—not regrow severed limbs or missing organs. But without the curse, those injuries can be treated here in the hospital.

So not all patients could become harvesting systems.

Which is kinda disappointing.

Still, it’s not all bad when harvesting systems gain abilities.

It raises my value, after all.

Anyway, after leaving the hospital, I had dinner with the commander and his adjutant before heading to a lodging place in the city.

It’s a really fancy room.

Of course, compared to the accommodations I stayed in at the capital, it’s pretty basic—but that’s expected since this is usually reserved for royal-level guests visiting from other countries.

They say they’ll prepare transportation for us to get back to the capital tomorrow.

At least the return trip will be comfortable.

Thinking about that, I laid down on the bed.

And how’s it going over there?

***

Over here, I’m hanging comfortably.

Since my body gets supplied with energy even though I haven’t eaten, it seems nutrients are being delivered through the tubes embedded in me.

Faintly, I recall a memory of lying down for over two days while getting an IV drip. Back then, I wasn’t hungry either.

Normally, staying still for so long would waste away muscles and leave the body frail, but that’s not happening here.

Why?

Because whenever pain or pleasure surges, my muscles automatically contract and expand, keeping me in shape.

Though I do wonder if it’s okay for bodily fluids to keep leaking like this.

Still, I didn’t ask. Instead, whenever the woman checking on me showed up, I kept chanting the contract incantation.

Of course, I don’t expect it to work. Women with the same face have already completed their contracts.

Once they push me in, they can fill me up right away—but they don’t.

Until I understand more about this world, I won’t act recklessly. So I quietly suppress my breath and mechanically chant the contract incantation.

Even with my eyes covered, I’m aware of my surroundings. When you observe your body closely, covering your eyes doesn’t mean you can’t perceive the outside world.

To put it simply, it’s like using ultrasound to see inside the womb or special waves to peer through buildings.

The resolution might not be great compared to sight, but I can tell roughly what’s moving.

Combined with footsteps, I can figure out the situation.

The woman always comes from the same direction, stops somewhere to my left, and then leaves. Last time I caught a glimpse, there was a machine with a gauge there, so she’s probably monitoring my status.

The sensations of pain and pleasure come irregularly, but I’ve noticed they repeat in certain intervals, likely following a program.

It’s fully automatic.

And after quite some time had passed…

I heard heavy footsteps approaching—not just one pair, but many.

Hmm? What’s going on?

While waiting to see if something happens, I heard a familiar voice.

“Did you enjoy last night? Even the strongest demon succumbs when entering that body, falling to its knees and wailing like a beast. Above all, they dread having their essence drained by my child.”

He chuckled softly.

My child?

Ah, he’s talking about the thing in my belly. It hasn’t moved, and feeling oddly light suggests it might be dead.

But a demon?

Ah!

So they’ve already experimented. They didn’t summon me right away because they were confident after running tests multiple times. And judging by the phrase “my child,” they’ve taken power from others this way before.

But shouldn’t producing offspring come after summoning me?

Maybe there’s a flaw on that side.

“How about it? Have you decided to submit to me now?”

Hmm. Should I properly converse, pretend to be an incomprehensible monster, or act? No, scratch acting—I’m not an actor, and I’d definitely get caught.

I want to decide based on seeing him.

I can read emotions from facial expressions, but right now, I regret not being able to see through this blindfold.

Hm…

There are multiple breathing sounds near him now, and I can hear trembling in them.

Hehe.

Is this an experiment?

Did they bring a test subject?

In that case, I only have one response.

“I’ll offer myself to you. In return, after you finish everything, I’ll take everything you possess. How does that sound?”

A brief silence.

Then the rustling of paper flipping.

“Hmm. There’s no memory recorded in his brain. Even powerful demons or lowly gods leave traces in the brain when summoned. Is he a creature beyond comprehension? Or is he such a primal deity that he lacks consciousness altogether? Yet, he attempted communication.”

Oof!

That was dangerous. Can he read memories too? Luckily, he couldn’t extract mine… Still, I should avoid lying as much as possible.

Muttering continues.

And the scratching sound of writing on paper.

“Assistant, bring the first test subject to him. We’ll begin the experiment to confirm the contract-induced mutation state.”

As the wizard spoke, fearful groans came from beside me. The terrified ones seem to have their mouths gagged.

Messy footstep sounds approach, and soon heavy steps draw near me.

Clunk.

Suddenly, my body tilted forward—or rather, my head dropped downward. A metallic click secured the connection between my head and body.

They’re fixing my head in place.

Then, after a moment…

My vision cleared.

In front of me stood a boy with a battered face, staring up at me in terror. Two women with identical faces held him, and another carried a blindfold.

Around the boy’s neck hung a necklace I recognized.

They’re testing the harvester.

Great. While they investigate me, I’ll investigate them too!

I chanted the contract incantation.

The boy trembled violently, shaking his head back and forth, but when one of the women struck his solar plexus, he screamed and foamed at the mouth.

Eventually, he nodded.

Ugh.

The connection was established, but I deliberately waited. Limits make things easier to handle, after all.

The wizard instructed them to remove the boy’s gag. Once it was off, I repeated the incantation, and the boy reluctantly accepted it.

Then I pushed myself into him.

A harvester was born.

Besides the boy, there was one other man and five women—all young or children.

After the last person became a harvester, I was blindfolded again and hung in a position closer to being prostrate.

Through the harvesters’ perspectives, I observed my surroundings.

I saw the environment I hadn’t noticed before.

Massive mechanical devices surrounded me above and below, and metal needles pierced my head and spine, connected to wires leading to metallic apparatuses above.

Other tubes were also embedded in my body; some seemed to connect to my blood vessels, pumping blood into artificial kidneys and back into me.

Tight setup.

The wizard ordered one of the identical women to continuously monitor me, then took the harvesters out of the room.

The harvesters were dissected alive.

At that moment, Jeongha’s memories as a bioengineering expert flashed. Observing the tools around me, the perspective during dissection, and the information the wizard recorded, he explained that the technology level was quite advanced.

The harvesters were people living in the city where this lab was located. Some were sold into slavery, others kidnapped.

However, according to Jeongha’s memories, the technology in this world might be even more advanced than what I’ve seen so far.

The reason the world I’ve encountered seems underdeveloped is due to the immense technological gap between the upper class and commoners.

Through the harvesters, I gradually learn more about this world, piece by piece.

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